on being nonbinary
Continued from my post on respecting conservatives
I want history to know that [being nonbinary] meant I wore dresses and carried a purse and kept a beard. But that's just the outward expression of something very deeply meaningful to me.
I know I'm male (unless I'm intersex somehow), but the whole concept of being a "man" doesn't sit with me. Nor does being a "woman".
Like I dig the words, they're good for language, and most people do feel correctly addressed when referred to as a man or a woman.
But to me, they feel like categories that go far beyond my genitalia, chromosomes, gametes, hormone levels, or whatever else biology regarding my sex.
Because they are legal mandates that used to have significant distinction in rights. Women used not to be able to vote. Men without property used to be unable to vote. 5 enslaved black men used to count as 3 people when counting a state's population (Just something everybody should know).
Those man/woman categories are literally more than biology. They are legal categories with certain historical rights and privileges, and unique disadvantages and harm.
To live nonbinary may be a little rebellious. I don't think that's my intent, though.
Part of it is that I really love how I feel when I'm pretty in a dress. Part of it is that I just don't fit the category beyond the "male" part.
And those categories are also significantly social. Women's clothing sections have dresses; men's clothing sections don't. That's because of social norms around what male-bodied & female-bodied people wear.
I'm male-bodied, and I don't do those norms (at least not exclusively). I'm not biologically geared more toward being legally able to vote, nor am I biologically destined to miss out on beautiful dresses.
And if anybody really wants "man" and "woman" to only be about biological sex, then we need the full range of clothing options, not sorted by gender.
Some items could be sorted by sex - bras, swim suits (because boobs are illegal), jock straps, and other things that are actually about biological sex.
And then "man" might only mean bio-sex, and "woman" might only mean bio-sex.
That might be kinda nice. (There would still be intersex people, and honestly this isn't realistic because we're all just people and having social categories around sex is probably largely unavoidable)
(Above was cut from 'on respecting conservatives')